The present invention relates to the assembly of nanomaterials, and, in particular, to a method of using electrostatic force to assemble nanoparticles onto nanostructures. The invention also relates to ambient-temperature gas sensors that can be constructed using the disclosed method of using electrostatic force to assemble nanoparticles onto nanostructures.
The manufacture of nanostructures from carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles may be useful in a broad range of applications including: nanoelectronics, chemical sensors, biosensors, catalysis, fuel cells, and hydrogen storage. Current methods for assembling these components are primarily based on “wet-chemical” techniques in which the components are created or manipulated with chemical reactions taking place in solution. These methods, however, are generally very slow, and the associated interfacial chemistry is material-dependent, limiting their ability to create nanostructures of arbitrary composition. Furthermore, although the size of the nanoparticles may be controlled in the solution prior to assembly, there is very limited control over the assembly process.